10 memorable Phillies trade deadline deals

Monday

If recent history has shown us anything, it’s that Ruben Amaro Jr. likes to wheel and deal on July 29.

The Phillies' general manager has shown a fondness for buying big on July 29, trading for Cliff Lee on July 29, 2009, Roy Oswalt on July 29, 2010, and Hunter Pence on July 29, 2011.

Even if Amaro doesn’t pull off a deal today, with the Phillies in full-on free fall mode right now, it’s likely he’ll make a trade or two before the 2013 non-waiver trade deadline arrives at 4 p.m. EST on Wednesday.

While we ponder what kind of deal Amaro will make – a star-for-blue chip prospects blockbuster or a salary dump - let’s take a look back at some of the big trade deadline deals made by Amaro and his predecessors Pat Gillick and Ed Wade.

As sweet as it was to get a diamond in the rough like Curt Schilling for the low, low cost of Jason Grimsley, the trade that sent the Phillies’ disgruntled ace to the Diamondbacks was nauseating. Unhappy with the direction of the franchise, Schilling openly lobbied for a trade and held the cards in any potential deal with a no-trade clause in his contract. So Wade struck a deal with one of the few teams Schilling agreed he would go to, and received what amounted to roughly 30-cents-on-the-dollar in return. Only Padilla lasted in Philly beyond 2002. Schilling on the other hand posted consecutive 20-win seasons in 2001 and 2002, helped the D-Backs win the World Series in 2001, and did the same for the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.

Not unlike the Schilling situation, Scott Rolen's last days playing for the local nine were not pleasant. He'd turned down a lucrative contract extension. He clashed (that's putting it mildly) with manager Larry Bowa. He was the homegrown face of the franchise and he wanted out of town in the worst way. Everyone knew it, especially the teams trying to make a deal with Wade who knew they had the GM over a barrel. That explains why Wade ended up getting fleeced by the Cardinals for Rolen.

This was a "white flag" deal that turned out to be addition by subtraction. With the Phils 48-53 at the time, 13.5 back of the first place Mets, and five games back of the Wild Card-leading Reds, Gillick felt the time was right to dump Bobby Abreu's hefty contract and start the process of evaluating younger players like Shane Victorino. Then a funny thing happened. With Victorino playing every day in right field and bringing boundless energy to the lineup, and players like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard stepping up and taking control of the club, the Phillies went 37-22 the rest of the way, and finished just three games out of the Wild Card spot.

Gillick cobbled together a lot of spare parts in 2007, fortifying the bullpen with scrap heap specials like J.C. Romero, Antonio Alfonseca and Jose Mesa. Gillick's best spare part find was White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, whom he traded for just hours after Chase Utley went down with a broken hand. Iguchi didn't just keep second warm during the month Utley was out. The fundamentally sound player did all the little things in the field and at the plate, playing a big part in the Phillies overtaking the Mets to capture their first NL East title in 14 years. The cost was pitching coach Rich Dubee's son, but it was well worth it.

Joe Blanton certainly wasn't the best starting pitcher available approaching the trade deadline in 2008 - that would be the Indians' C.C. Sabathia. But Blanton proved a good fit, eating innings and providing depth in a rotation that featured one developing ace in Cole Hamels, and a bunch of back-of-the-rotation types. For three very expendable prospects, Blanton gave the Phillies exactly what they needed - stability. The Phillies won nine of his 13 starts down the stretch, and Blanton won the deciding game of the National League Division Series over Sabathia and the Brewers. He also won game three of the World Series.

Pundits and fans had one name in mind for the Phillies as the trade deadline approached in 2009: Roy Halladay. With Hamels struggling to regain his 2008 form, a second straight World Series appearance didn't seem likely without a certified ace like Halladay at the front of the rotation. But Toronto knew what a valuable commodity they had and pressed Amaro hard in trade talks. Sensing that the Halladay deal wasn't going to happen, Amaro formed a contingency plan. And two days before the deadline he surprised everyone by acquiring the reigning AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee for four prospects. Lee's immediate impact was immeasurable. He dominated in the post-season, nearly carrying the Phillies to a second straight World Series title by mowing down the Rockies, Dodgers, and Yankees with a 4-0 record in five starts, a 1.56 ERA, and two complete games. And then he was traded that December “to replenish the farm system.” At least he came back as a free agent.

Roy Oswalt was wasting away on a horrible Astros team as the 2010 trade deadline approached, the subject of a new trade rumor daily. The Phillies meanwhile had spent the better part of a month in third place and had dropped six of seven – being outscored 48-21 in that span - as the hours clicked away until July 31. Amaro called his old boss Wade, then GM in Houston, and turned three very expendable pieces into a pitcher that would be an ace on most staffs. For the Phillies, Oswalt was a dominant number three down the stretch in 2010 (7-1 in 12 starts with a 1.74 ERA, 0.895 WHIP and 3.48 SO/BB ratio) behind Halladay and Hamels. Oswalt couldn't get the Phillies over the hump in the 2010 post-season and underachieved during the 2011 regular and post-season due to injury. The trade still ranks as a steal.

Another trade deadline, another productive player the Phils coveted wasting away in Houston. This time their target was Hunter Pence, a right-handed bat with pop they envisioned as a significant upgrade in right field over Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown. Like the previous two trade deadlines, the Phillies got their man, and their man delivered. In 54 games, Pence hit 11 home runs to go with 35 RBI, a .324 average, a .954 OPS and one ubiquitous catch phrase ("Good game, let's go eat"). Pence underperformed in the 2011 post-season and was traded to the Giants in 2012 as the Phillies floundered, but there's no question he was the right pickup at the right time. Was the price too steep? Though right-hander Jared Cosart's career is off to a fast start (he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his big league debut July 12 and has allowed one earned run in 15 innings over his first two starts) it's still too early to tell.

For the first time since 2006, the Phillies were sellers at the 2012 trade deadline. Ironically, one of the pieces they were selling was a guy they made room for by shipping out Abreu in 2006. The trade of Victorino to the Dodgers signaled the beginning of the end of an era. Victorino was a huge factor in the Phillies' run of sustained success from 2007-2011 and he became a pillar of the community. But he was a struggling pending free agent and the Phillies were going nowhere. The trade's immediate impact was inconsequential. Victorino didn't do much for the Dodgers, who failed to make the post-season. The only big leaguer the Phillies received in the deal, reliever Josh Lindblom, struggled in Philly and was sent to Texas after the season in the Michael Young deal.

For all the energy and pop Pence brought down the stretch in 2011, he clearly struggled with trying to be a centerpiece of the lineup while Utley and Howard were out with injuries during the first half of the 2012 season. Add to that his status as an arbitration-eligible player looking at a potential $15 million payday and it was hardly shocking when the Phillies sent him to the Giants just hours after completing the deal for Victorino. Though the Giants went on to win the 2012 World Series, Pence really wasn't much of a factor. And the Phillies got a promising catching prospect from the Giants in Tommy Joseph (he's missed much of the 2013 season in the minors after suffering a concussion). The real fallout from this deal is that the Phillies let outfielder Nate Schierholtz walk after the 2012 season, and he's been tearing it up for the Cubs in 2013. In fairness to the Phils though, Schierholtz missed a few weeks after the trade due to injury so they really didn't have time to evaluate him.

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